Even though it is still considered Winter and is chilly here (we know we have no room to complain but for Florida it has been a bit on the nippy side) we took a trip to the beach. (It was the warmest of the cool days.) You could certainly tell that it was the warmest day as the beach was packed. This would be our first trip to the dog beach since Henry has officially been blind.

There were several dogs there and quite a few fisherman, plenty of small children and a fair share of seniors, as well. So, it was an eclectic bunch. We were a little apprehensive that the large crowd may give Henry a bit of unease, but that was probably just us. He can't see, so how does he even know that there are tons of people milling around? Our concern was him navigating and bumping into stuff and getting in people's way or tangled in fishing line. (He has not really mastered the fact that we need to lead him a bit more than him leading us.)

In any event, we made it from the car to the beach with ease. He was one happy camper just trotting along without a care in the world, smelling the sea air and feeling the sand/grass mix beneath his paws. We made it to the actual beach and had full sand under his feet and the waves at his back. We wondered if approaching the waves would now be scary for him since he can't see them coming or if he would manage to adapt some other way. Henry wasted no time. He walked in ankle deep, then knee deep the chest deep! He got nailed by a wave that broke on his chest but he was still enjoying himself! The water was cool for sure and not only was he the dog that was in the water the deepest, he was the ONLY dog in the water. The other dogs there were all being wimpy seeing dogs and were dodging the tides. So, once again, Henry demonstrated his strength and fortitude and that he is pretty much miraculously unbreakable.

Whenever we took the pugs to a pet store it was always a nose driven experience. It was always interesting to see what products and treats really drew them in. Shopping with Henry now is an even more nose driven experience. Usually, we end up in some corner of the store with Henry sniffing the door of what always turns out to be the employee break room. He would love nothing more than to join them on their lunch breaks

But, on our last shopping trip, there were packages of cookies on top of a glass display case that really caught his sniffer. He kept returning and returning to this spot, until finally he caught a whiff of something else. He proceeded to walk behind the display case and into the cash register area where he found a stash of the same cookies. They were neatly tucked on a shelf behind the register and on hand to replace any of the boxes on top of the case when they were purchased. Needless to say, he spent the rest of the trip behind the cash register trying to figure out how to score some cookies.

On Monday we shared that Henry's blood work came back really good! Hooray for Hank! However, on the other paw, Cupid's was not too hot. Boo kitty girl! Cupid, who just turned 17 (I keep saying that because I really still cannot believe it!) has had a history of thyroid and heart issues. We have had a bit of challenge managing her thyroid levels. They are either way up or way down. And this time they were down.

So, we will readjust her meds and going back for a T4 panel in 30 days and see what we've got. In the mean time, we wanted to be sure to give Cupid her kudos for being a super good kitty girl about taking her meds. Cupid gets 2 pills in the morning and another 2 in the evening. Anyone who has ever had to dose a cat probably knows that it ain't all that easy. (We have cats to compare Cupid to....Grammy's cats have needed both pills and liquids as of recent and we are ones who administer these meds.) So, really, serous kitty kudos to QP cat. She takes her meds with comparative ease. #CupidStong,/p>

We will keep you posted next month when we get her blood results back. Don't forget....#CupidISaPUG!,

Last week it was time for Henry to have a check up at the vet. Overall he is on a once a month schedule. One month he gets a chest xray, the next month he gets a sonogram of his kidney. This is all to make sure that Henry is still cancer free. We also get blood work every few months. And this visit it was time again. His last blood test showed that he was having some struggles with his one remaining kidney and our vet warned that he was probably in the early stages of kidney failure. The silver lining to this was that kidney failure typically takes a little while to get "bad" and in Henry's current state may be a little bit reversible.

We discussed Henry's diet with the vet and our vet wanted to put Henry on a special canned dog food for dogs with kidney issues. For the most part, the pugs have never really been on dog food and after much conversation with our vet, he allowed us to try to modify his current meal plan in hopes of being able to stick to what he eats already but modifying the portions of each product. Basically, Henry needed a low protein meal plan. And actually he needed his protein to be reduced significantly. I am very relieved that our vet gave us the opportunity to try to make the change ourselves rather than move to a dog food option. (We finally just got Henry's IBD under control and we knew that especially introducing a new food could set him back in the tummy troubles department.)

So for the last couple of months, we have been giving Henry his modified meals. Monday was the day where we would either have to concede to our vet that Henry needed his special canned dog food option or that we were victorious in striking a good balance and reducing his protein levels enough that he could stay on his homemade diet as he has always been on. Essentially it was put up or shut up day.

Hooray for Henry's kidney! We put up, so now our vet has to shut up. LOL. But seriously, Henry's kidney is doing better, bloodwork shows. So, we will continue on his current meal plan and retest again in a few months. Just goes to show once again..... #HENRYSTRONG #HENRYISAGOODBOY #TEAMHENRYWINS